


doesn't make us weak

by howshouldibegin



Series: big teeth small kiss [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11036286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howshouldibegin/pseuds/howshouldibegin
Summary: Shiro actually fell asleep in the presence of another person, something he hadn't done since before that first battle in the Arena.  Something about Ulaz said security and safety to Shiro.





	doesn't make us weak

**Author's Note:**

> Fills the Dreams slot of Uliro Week 2017
> 
> All titles for this series come from [btsk by MS MR](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx7afw6CmYc).

They dozed, curled into each other on the narrow cot, for the better part of an hour. Shiro actually fell asleep in the presence of another person, something he hadn't done since before that first battle in the Arena. Something about Ulaz said security and safety to Shiro.

So he slept, the fingers of his real hand loosely clutching at Ulaz's biceps, as Ulaz had draped an arm over Shiro's waist loosely enough that it didn't feel like he was pinned. 

Even so, dreams still drove Shiro back into wakefulness, tears wetting his face again.

Ulaz stirred when Shiro tensed, and pushed himself up on one elbow to look at Shiro with concern. 

“You're crying,” he observed, gently brushing some of Shiro's tears away.

Shiro chuckled weakly, and made to wipe the rest away, but Ulaz stopped him, leaning in to lick them away, just as he had earlier.

“They taste different.”

“There's a saying on Earth,” Shiro said, “that happy tears are sweeter.”

“They are. Did you wish to share what brought these tears about?”

Shiro sighed and turned on his back to stare at the ceiling. “I miss flying.”

Ulaz frowned lightly in confusion. “I do not understand. You fly a lion of Voltron every day.”

Shiro rocked his head back and forth in a negative. “It's different from Earth ships. Yes, the Black Lion is a much more complicated machine to fly, but it's also much easier to fly. Earth ships take years of study before you even leave the ground. Being a pilot was my biggest dream as a child.”

“And you succeeded,” Ulaz pointed out. “You were the pilot of the ship found on that moon with you, were you not?”

Shiro sighed wistfully. “The Persephone, yeah. She was such a beautiful ship. Fastest one every built by humans. Flying the Persephone felt like coming home. Like I was meant to be her pilot, and that everything I ever did in my life was leading to that.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “Do I want to know what happened to her?”

“I am not certain,” Ulaz hedged, “but your ship was likely abandoned on that moon, if it were deemed technologically inferior.”

Shiro hummed. “I hope so. The Persephone may be inferior to the Galra, but she was an incredible advancement for humans. I hope I can see her again.”

“Your new dream?” Ulaz teased.

“After all this, yeah. Salvage the Persephone, go home to let my folks know I'm not dead, get some recognizable food. Figure out the rest later. How about you? Any ideas for what you'll do after this war?”

Ulaz made a soft considering noise in his throat. “I've never imagined that I'll live past the end of this war,” he said, so matter-of-factly, just something he was used to.

“That's . . . incredibly sad,” Shiro said softly.

Ulaz shrugged. “The beginnings of this war are all but out of living memory, except for Zarkon, and the Alteans on your castle. Before Voltron's return . . . well. It has been a long war, and the Blades of Marmora was once a much larger organization.”

“What about when your were growing up, did you have any dreams then?”

The Galra smiled gently. “I too wanted to be a pilot.” 

“Oh?” Shiro perked up. “Give me details, what kind of pilot did young Ulaz want to be? Combat? Transport?”

“Racing.”

Shiro laughed, surprised. “Really? Are you a thrill junkie too, Ulaz?”

“I love racing,” he replied. “I always did. My mother said I ran before I walked. But when I was very young, my parents took me to the Keltivy Races. It's an annual race, and there are very few rules. The courses change each year, but they are always long and treacherous, and I wanted to be a Keltivy racing pilot so very badly. I even built my own racing ship when I was a decafeeb old.” 

Shiro fondly watched Ulaz light up, talking about his racing dreams. It was the most animated Shiro had seen Ulaz, outside of sex. “I'd like to see this race sometime. Do you stil go to watch?”

Ulaz deflated slightly. “No, my duties interfere. If I am very lucky, I can catch a recording of it, but I haven't been to any but the one.”

“You've never raced anywhere else?”

“Ah, no. When my mother discovered my racing ship, she sat me down to explain why I could never be a Keltivy racing pilot. I was born into the Blade of Marmora, and none of the Blades are that visible to the public eye.”

Shiro frowned. “That's a harsh thing to tell a child.” 

Ulaz shrugged, his shoulder bumping Shiro's. “It was the truth, and one I had known my entire life. It was a childhood dream only, to be put away with childhood's toys. My mother was a Blade, my father a defector from the Empire. He was killed shortly after we went to the Keltivy races. My mother is officially missing, and has been for quite some time now. That is the life of a Blade. Anonymous, dangerous, and usually spent alone.”

Shiro turned back onto his side to face Ulaz, looking at him intently. “You're not alone right now.”

Ulaz smiled gently. “You are right.” He leaned in, one hand delicately touching Shiro's face, and kissed him almost chastely. He seemed to enjoy touching Shiro's mostly smooth skin as much as Shiro enjoyed Ulaz's soft velvety fur. 

And as nice as the sex had been earlier, rushed and frantic and heady, this slow making out was just as heady, soft drugging kisses exchanged between two people just enjoying this simple act of intimacy. It was almost better than the sex earlier, if Shiro was being honest with himself. Sure, that was the first time he'd had sex in about two years, but being this close to someone, just touching, just kissing, being touched without harmful intent, this was better, and Shiro was so glad that they could share this moment alone right now. Maybe in an hour, maybe in a minute, they'd be dragged away, back to their duties in this ten thousand year long war, but not yet.

Right now, Shiro let his eyes fall closed, as he stroked flesh fingers along the dense fur on Ulaz's arm. Right now, Ulaz kissed Shiro like they were the only two people in the universe. Right now, they could each take solace in each other, two weary soldiers taking shelter from the vast cold and dark of space, stealing time away from their duties for as long as they could. 

Long, exploratory kisses slowed into short ones, and Shiro enjoyed Ulaz's reaction as he peppered kisses up Ulaz's nose, fighting off a grin as he felt Ulaz wrinkle it beneath the sensation, and finally pressed one last soft kiss to the corner of Ulaz's left eye, relaxing completely into Ulaz's embrace.

Shiro didn't want silence, though, didn't want the quiet to bring back dreams and nightmares and duties and the others. It was good that they talked, even about inconsequential things, because really, they didn't know each other all that well. Thrown together by circumstance and luck, admittedly mostly in Shiro's favour, they were still practically strangers. 

Perhaps that's what moved him to ask Ulaz, “What hope do you see in the future for our relationship?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hereby dub the Kerberos ship Persephone, because space needs more badass women from mythology, but y'all should know that I was also considering Orpheus as the name for the ship, aka a failed mission to the underworld, but I figured that would be a little too on the nose. ;)


End file.
